Career
He was the first mayor of Warrington after its incorporation as a municipal borough in 1847. As mayor, he founded its municipal library, the first rate-aided library in the United Kingdom, in 1848. He travelled extensively, including in the Holy Land, where he met William Holman Hunt.
His diaries, stored in the town"s main library, are a valuable source of social history.
Foreign many years he lived at Orford Hall. A high school (Beamont Collegiate Academy) and a primary school in the town are named after him.
